Apparatus and method for deodorizing oils

ABSTRACT

This invention provides an apparatus and method for contacting liquid with gas in a vessel in which an upstanding jetforming means directs jets of gas along a path having a horizontal component and through the liquid. The jet forming element may be an upright distributor having orifices spaced along its length from near the bottom of a tray to about the level of the liquid. The jets of gas generate a rising column of liquid and inject gas into the column so formed. Considerable velocity develops and the rapidly moving gas and liquid are impinged with turbulence against a plate and deflected downward. Currents of escaping vapor are driven against each other and against elements of the apparatus to coalesce and separate entrained droplets.

United States Patent Lineberry et al.

[451 Sept. 26, 1972 [54] APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DEODORIZING OILS [73] Assignee: Chemetron Corporation, Chicago,

Ill.

22 Filed: July 17, 1970 '21 Appl.No.: 55,675

[52] US. Cl. ..55/54, 55/198, 202/234, 261/123, 261/124 [51] Int. Cl. ..B0ld 19/00 [58] Field of Search ..55/44, 53, 54, 196, 198, 263, 55/255; 202/234; 203/92; 261/123, 124

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,695,868 11/1954 Brucke ..203/92 x 1,943,146 1/1934 Rust ..55/54 X 3,129,076 4/1964 De Smet ..55/198 X 2,691,665 10/1954 Bailey ..203/92 1,945,489 1/1934 Manley ...26l/l23 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 989,388 4/1965 Great Britain 1.55/54 X Primary Examiner-Reuben Friedman Assistant Examiner-R. W. Burks Attorney-Nicholas M. Esser [5 7] ABSTRACT This invention provides an apparatus and method for contacting liquid with gas in a vessel in which an upstanding jetforming means directs jets of gas along a path having a horizontal component and through the liquid. The jet forming element may be an upright distributor having orifices spaced along its length from near the bottom of a tray to about the level of the liquid. The jets of gas generate a rising column of liquid and inject gas into the column so formed. Considerable velocity develops and the rapidly moving gas and liquid are impinged with turbulence against a plate and deflected downward. Currents of escaping vapor are driven against each other and against elements of the apparatus to coalesce and separate entrained droplets.

18 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DEODORIZING OILS BACKGROUND OF INVENTION Oils and fats have for a long time been deodorized by treatment with steam in batch, semicontinuous and continuous processes using apparatus appropriate to the practice of each. The deodorization process undoubtedly involves steam distillation of the lower boiling and odoriferous components and, in addition to known hydrolysis and possible polymer formation, it

appears that other and little understood chemical modifications may also take place during the process. The extent of such chemical changes would be expected to increase with either or both the time and the temperature at which the oil is processed.

As often practiced, especially under batch conditions, steam was blown through rather a deep body of oil from a sparger in the bottom of the treatment vessel or tray. The steam rates customarily employed in this arrangement produced an agitated body of oil topped by a froth of steam and oil. A belief developed that most of the steam to oil contact took place in the froth and equipment design tended toward a shallow tray of large area to accommodate a greater quantity of froth. Too, oil regularly is deodorized at pressures of from 1 mm. to about 6 mm. mercury absolute so the the oil preferably is in rather shallow trays at a depth of about two feet so that thehydraulic head of the oil does not seriously modify the deodorizing conditions. The apparatus described by Bailey in US. Pat. No. 2,691,665 illustrates deodorization equipment having relatively shallow trays of large area.

In the Bailey apparatus, a vertical tower able to operate at a vacuum of about 6 mm. Hg is fitted with a plurality of trays through which the oil is passed downward semicontinuously. In a typical installation of five trays the oil resides about 30 minutes in each tray. The top two trays heat the oil to deodorizing temperature, about 450 to 500 F., in the middle two trays the oil is treated with steam introduced through a grid of sparger pipes adjacent to and distributed across the bottom of the tray and the lowermost tray cools the oil to storage temperature so that there will be no deterioration when it is withdrawn from the apparatus and exposed to the air. The volatile fraction is recovered from the vacuum system; the oil carried into the shell surrounding the trays becomes discolored and is discarded.

Operation of deodorization apparatus is regularly quite violent and the bumping of the steam and oil causes vibrations in the column which are sometimes of such large amplitude that mechanical stress can become a design problem. The sparger type tray, moreover, appears to develop considerable local recirculation so that the oil may be treated non-uniformly.

Extensive experience with the Bailey apparatus has established that satisfactory deodorization could not be accomplished in less than about 1 hour of steam treatment in which the steam consumed amounted to between 3 and 4 percent by weight based on the oil. Typically, the amount of oil removed was about 0.25 percent as distillate and about 0.15 percent through shell accumulation for a total loss of 0.4 percent.

The ability to accomplish the customary degree of deodorization in a shorter time provides economic advantages by reducing the man-hours required per ton of oil and by enabling greater production per unit of capital invested in deodorizing equipment. Moreover, more rapid and efficient deodorization subjects the oil to less vigorous time-temperature conditions-so that hydrolysis, fatty acid production and the like, are diminished. Furthermore, although a study of the composition of vegetable oil suggested that a larger fraction of highly desirable components such as tocopherol and sterols might be recovered from the distillate if the deodorization process was performed in a shorter time and with significantly increased quantities of stripping steam and at a higher temperature experience with a substantial increase in the quantity of stripping steam in the Bailey type apparatus resulted in excessive loss of oil through entrainment, splashing from the trays and the like.

There remains a need, therefore, for a simple rugged apparatus, and for a highly efficient method, for contacting steam with oil, especially for deodorizing edible oils, with a low percentage of losses.

There also is a need for an efficient method for contacting oil with a higher percentage of steam so that certain identified fractions of oil such as tocopherol and sterols can be removed and recovered.

THE INVENTION This invention is directed to an apparatus and to a method for contacting liquid with gas or vapor. More particularly, it relates to an apparatus and method for contacting a liquid such as an oil with an immiscible vapor such as steam in a highly efficient manner. It especially relates to an apparatus and method by which edible oils may be deodorized in a shorter period of time. Further, the invention enables a larger fraction of the volatile components of the oils to be removed and recovered without excessive losses through entrainment, splashing or degradation.

In its broader aspects this invention provides an apparatus of sturdy construction including a vessel or tray to contain a liquid to a predetermined level in which an upstanding jet forming means within the vessel directs jets or streams of gas along a path having a horizontal component and through the liquid. The jet forming element may be an upright distributor having orifices spaced along its height from near the bottom of the tray to about the level of the oil. The orifices preferably are circular but may be in the form of slots of various shapes.

In some embodiments upright elements within a tray define an annular passage through which liquid is moved while a centrally located perforate element directs jets of gas radially outward. A plate element above the liquid provides a surface for intimate wiping contact of the liquid and gas mixture after which a system of baffles directs the product for disengagement of liquid from the vapor.

The apparatus described herein is particularly suited to use in a semicontinuous deodorization process but those skilled in the art will recognize that it is readily adaptable to batch processing by including appropriate heating and cooling means in the deodorizing tray or to continuous operation.

The method of this invention includes the steps of providing a body of liquid, introducing a gas into the liquid, dispersing and intermixing the gas within the liquid and then separating the gas from the liquid. More particularly, jets of gas from a pressurized source generate a rising column of liquid and inject gas into the column so formed over a substantial portion of its height and along a path transverse to its rising direction. Considerable velocity develops and the rapidly moving gas and liquid is impinged with turbulence against a plate and deflected outward from the columns center and downward. Currents of escaping vapor are driven against each other and against elements of the equipment to coalesce entrained droplets and facilitate their separation.

The invention will be better understood from reference to the following description and drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation largely in section of a deodorizing tray;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view partly in section of another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a view of an alternate embodiment of a tray in section; and

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate alternate arrangements of contacting apparatus showing the tray in section.

In FIG. 1 the tray shown generally at has a sloping bottom 12 in an upright side 14. The tray is mounted inside the vacuum shell 16 by suitable supportsl8. The tray is preferably circular but may be square or of some other shape.

An upright cylinder 20 is mounted within the tray on legs 22'with the lower edge 24 spaced from and substantially parallel to the bottom 12. Its upper end may be near the surface of the liquid to be treated and preferably extends above the surface level. Supports 26 provide additional rigidity. An upright distributor 30 is located coaxially within the cylinder 20 and is secured to the bottom at 32 as by welding. Distributed over the lower portion of the wall of the distributor 30 are holes 34. Within the distributor and coaxial therewith is a pipe 40 which is sealed to the bottom at 42 as by welding and to a flange 44 within the distributor 30. The pipe extends to nearly the top of the distributor and is supported near its upper end within the distributor by channel member 46.

Secured to the upper end 36 of the distributor is a plate 50 which has an elliptical central portion 52 and a down turned lip 54. Located against the side 14 of the tray and above the plate 50 is a deflector 60 supported by a gusset 62 so that it overlaps the edges of plate 50 and preferably forms a small angle to the horizontal. Secured to the rim 11 of the tray by spacers 66 is a top 70 having on its lower surface a baffle 74 which depends into the tray beyond the rim 1 l.

The high degree of gas to liquid contact desired requires that the gas jets penetrate deeply into the rising liquid column. The extent of this penetration is related to the dimensions of the jet and the jet forming orifice. A lower orifice size limit is about 0.03 inches which size is'suitable for columns of small diameter. For many applications an orifice dimension of 0.07 inches is desired. Substantially larger orifices may be employed but the large amount of localized gas results in less efficient contact and may produce bumping of great severity.

The orifices are spaced around the periphery of the distributor and along its side to achieve longer contact between the liquid and the gas and to stabilize the lifting action of the gas. Large losses were observed at high gas rates when most of the orifices were near the bottom or the lower portion of the distributor but excellent results are obtained when the orifices are distributed along its height and preferably over a major portion of its height.

The orifices should not be so closely spaced that the gas streams and jets will unite to produce inefficient contact. Desirably, the space between circular orifices should be equal to at least five times the diameter of the opening and preferably ten times said diameter. The number of orifices depends upon their size and the steam pressure available which should be balanced so that gas discharge velocity is approximately sonic.

Where the structure of the tray serves to define the dimensions of the rising column of liquid, the column should not be so wide that good gas penetration is not achieved. A width equal to about to about 200 times the jet diameter is desirable but greater widths may be employed with some reduction of efficiency.

When it is desired to employ the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1 for the deodorization of oil it is mounted within a column which can be subjected to a vacuum and ordinarily there is at least one heating tray above it and at least one cooling tray beneath it. The column may be operated under a vacuum; the pressure may be about 1 millimeter of mercury absolute and a pressure of about 6 millimeters is often employed. Oil is charged to the heating trays and agitated with steam until it reaches a temperature suitable for deodorization. Dry steam is charged through pipe 40 and is directed through holes 34 in the distributor 30. The hot oil is then transferred from the heating tray via inlet 76 to the tray 10, the quantity being sufficient to establish a level as indicated at 78 in FIG. 1 and near the upper portion of the cylinder 20. The steam discharges through the holes 34 as jets which penetrate into the body of oil.

Steam injected near the bottom of the distributor 30 expands, thus reducing the density of the column of oil so that it rises and circulates the oil through the opening 25. With large volumes of steam, more stable circulation results when the jets are spaced along the distributor so that there is a progressive addition of gas to the rising column of liquid.

The pumping action is very violent and the oil splatters against the plate 50, moves radially and is deflected downwardly by the lip 54. If the pumping rate is excessive, the oil and steam may disengage before equilibrium is attained. The steam jets should penetrate substantially through the column to insure good steam-oil contact which is enhanced during passage across the underside of the plate 50.

After the oil is deflected by the lip 54, much of the steam carrying the volatilized fractions disengages from the oil and is deflected by deflector 60 against the upper surface of the plate 50. At this time the vapor stream is extremely turbulent and entrained droplets are removed by impingement against the gusset 62, the underside of deflector 60, the upper side of plate 52 and other surfaces. Portions of the vapor streams may follow paths indicated by arrows 56 and 58 to impinge against each other so that the droplets contact one another and grow to such a size that they separate from the stream.

To escape from the tray the vapor again must reverse direction and pass between the lower edge of the baffle 74 and deflector 60 and over the rim 11 between the spacers 66. Mist and droplets which separate and collect on the baffle 74, the deflector 60 and other portions of the interior structure return by gravity to the main body of oil within the tray. Droplets which escape from the tray gather in the shell 16 and are not useful as product. The steam and volatiles pass through the vacuum apparatus and are condensed. Oil is discharged through outlet valve 80.

In the event that the supply of steam is interrupted while the tray is full of oil, the oil will seek its level and will fill the cylinder 20 and enter the distributor 30 via the holes 34. However, since the pipe 40 extends well above the surface it will remain free of oil. With the reestablishment of steam pressure, the oil is expelled from within the distributor 30 and the deodorization resumes.

The structure of FIG. 1 is particularly suitable for a circular or square tray; the structure illustrated in FIG. 2 is more suitable for use with a rectangular tray. If the tray has great length it may be inclined at an angle so that oil may pass slowly and continuous down through it. Such an elongated tray may also be coiled to form a helix. Oil flow may be regulated by a weir or weirs.

Referring to FIG. 2 of the drawings, there is shown a tray generally 110 having a bottom 112 and an upright side 114. Within the tray are upright distributor partitions 130 and 131 having a large number of orifices 134. Mixer walls 120 and 121 are spaced laterally from the distributor plates and vertically above the bottom 112 and are secured to the structure by legs 122 and supports 124. Steam is supplied to the distributor by pipe 140.

Mounted above the distributor is a plate 150 having a lip 154. A deflector 160 is supported from the side 114 by gusset 162. In this construction the deflector is above the peak 156 but, nevertheless, located so that the gas escaping from the tray is impinged on the upper surface of the plate to remove entrained droplets.

, The deflector 160 and the plate 150 cooperate to direct the streams of gas escaping from under the lip 154 into each other along paths indicated by arrows 157 so that droplets and mist suspended in the stream impinge on each other to separate before the gas escapes from the tray.

A top 170 is supported from the rim 111 of the tray by'spacers 166 and carries baffles 174 and 175 on its underside.

When this tray is in operation to deodorize oil, steam under pressure is admitted through the pipe 140 and sufficient hot oil is placed in the tray to establish a level as indicated at 118. The jets of steam escaping from the holes 134 cause the oil to rise, impinge on the underside 151 of the plate 150 and to be deflected downward by the lip 154. As the oil between the distributor partitions 130-131 and the mixer walls 120-121 is displaced upwardly, additional oil is drawn through the openings 125 and 126. The vapor separates from the treated oil in a manner similar to that described for the apparatus of FIG. 1.

In another embodiment of the invention, illustrated in FIG. 3, the walls of the tray help define the path of the rising column of oil during treatment. In this embodiment a tray shown generally at 210 has a bottom 212 and a side 214. Oil is supplied by inlet 276. Mounted within the tray is an annular distributor 230 defined by inner wall 231 and outer wall 232. Jet forming orifices 234 are preferably in the outer wall 232. Mounted above the distributor is deflector 260 and plate 250 which elements along with baffle 274 prevent direct or straight line egress of the gas from the tray. When used to deodorize oil, steam supplied by pipe 240 is formed into jets by the orifices 234 which, when oil is placed in the tray, causes a rising column to be formed between the outer wall 232 of the distributor and the side of the tray 214. The oil is thrown against the underside of deflector 260 which directs it radially inward to the central region of the tray. The baffle 274 prevents direct passage of vapors and entrained droplets from the tray. Top 270 deflects condensate from the upper trays and into the shell 216 where it does not discolor the steam stripped oil.

Although the invention has been described above with reference to but one distributor and mixerper tray, it is contemplated that multiple units may be used to advantage so that, in some instances a single tray may contain several units of smaller size.

Additional embodiments of a portion of the apparatus of this invention are illustrated in FIGS. 4A and 4B. In FIG. 4A a deodorizing tray shown generally at 310 has a bottom 312 and an upright side 314. Mounted within the tray is a distributor 330 having a plurality of risers 333 provided with orifices 334. The lower ends 335 of the risers communicate with a steam supply pipe 350.

When a tray of this configuration is supplied with oil and steam the oil forms an ascending column surrounding each riser, impinges against the plates 350 and is directed downward. The descending oil combines with that deflected by the adjacent riser and circulation paths are established. The entrainment separating portion of this tray has not been illustrated but baffles and deflectors similar to those illustrated in FIGS. '1-3 may be employed. In FIG. 4B a structure similar to that of FIG. 4A is shown except that a large liquid directing plate 460 surmounts several risers 433 and is supported from them by brackets 435. The treated oil is discharged from the tray through outlet valve 480.

The invention will be better understood from the following examples which are intended to be illustrative only and not limiting.

EXAMPLE I Anapparatus similar to that shown in FIG. 1 was constructed with a square tray 72 inches on a side and 48 inches deep. Within the tray was a cylinder 50 inches in diameter and 23 inches tall mounted 12 inches above the bottom of the tray. Within the cylinder and coaxial with it was a distributor 20 inches in diameter having holes 5/32 inches in diameter extending from about its lower edge to 30 inches above the tray bottom. Surrnounting the tube and secured to its upper end was a plate 66 inches in diameter. A deflector 4 inches wide was mounted from the wall of the tray and at least a portion overlay the plate. The top baffle 13 inches tall depended from it toward the plate. The tray was mounted beneath two heating trays and above one cooling tray in a column about 30 feet tall with an inside diameter of 9 feet.

Three thousand two hundred pounds of refined and bleached mixed vegetable oil, comprising about 75 percent soybean oil, at a temperature of 527 F were charged to the tray which filled it to a depth of about 21 as inches. While the tray was under 5.7 mm. Hg absolute pressure, dry steam at about 30 psia was injected at the rate of 315 pounds per hour through the oil for 19 minutes. The oil was then passed into the cooling tray to reduce its temperature and when recovered from the tray was determined to be of good quality for marketing. This treatment removed a total of 0.724 percent of the charged oil with 0.618 percent recovered as distillate and 0.106 percent as shell drain material. Analysis of distillate material recovered indicated that 16.9 percent was tocopherols and sterols. The entire operation proceeded with remarkable smoothness and lack of bumping.

EXAMPLE II On another run, 3,750 pounds of refined and bleached mixed vegetable oil, comprising about 94 percent soybean oil, were charged at a temperature of 526 F to the tray described in Example I, which filled it to a depth of about 27 )6 inches. While the tray was under 1.8 mm. Hg absolute pressure, dry steam was injected into the oil at a rate of 250 pounds per hour for 19 minutes and then the oil was cooled. This treatment removed a total of 0.65 percent of the charged oil with 0.363 percent recovered as distillate and 0.287 percent as shell drain material. Analysis of the distillate indicated 29 percent by weight was tocopherols and sterols. The oil quality was adjudged as good.

The stripping steam has a cooling effect on the oil and the temperature of the oil drops several degrees during the deodorizing step. The oil temperature decrease is greater with longer deodorizing times and larger quantities of stripping steam.

EXAMPLE Ill The tray described in Example I was charged with 3,810 pounds of vegetable oil, containing about 72 percent soybean oil, at a temperature of 458 F with the tray under 1.2 mm. Hg absolute pressure. Dry steam was injected at the rate of 65 pounds per hour for 19 minutes. The product quality was good and the treatment removed a total of 0.236 percent of the charged oil with 0.138 percent recovered as distillate and 0.098 percent as shell drain material. Tocopherols and sterols comprised 10.5 percent of the distillate material.

Data from these examples are presented in Table I along with data from a run made with the apparatus of Bailey discussed earlier.

Deodorizing Temp., "F 527 526 458 464 Temperature Drop "F l7 l2 9 22 Deodorizing Press., mmHg.abs. 5.7 1.8 1.2 7 Stripping Steam. #IHr. 315 250 65 225 Deodorization Losses, Wt.% 0.724 0.65 0.236 0.174

s)Disti11ate Recovered,

1. Tocopherols and Sterols. of

Distillate 16.9 29 10.5 2.45

b)Shell Drain Recovered Wt.% 0.106 0.287 0.098 0.108 Product Quality good good good good Bailey type apparatus.

Examples I, 11 and Ill illustrate the capacity of the apparatus and method of this invention to produce good quality deodorized oil in a very short time, thereby increasing productivity. These examples also illustrate the ability of the apparatus to remove larger percentages of tocopherols and sterols in the distillate.

Vegetable oil was used in all the foregoing examples, but other edible fats and oils of commerce, such as animal fats, whale and fish oils, may similarly be deodorized.

Without further explanation it is believed one skilled in the art from the foregoing description and examples is enabled to understand the invention and use it to the fullest extent.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for contacting a body of liquid with a gas, a portion of which liquid is circulated as a rising column within said body, comprising a vessel to contain a liquid to a predetermined level, means within said vessel to define at least a part of the path of said rising column, said means extending above said liquid level and including a jet forming element adapted to direct the gas through a substantial portion of the height of the column along a path having a horizontal component and a plate above said liquid level to deflect the top of the column from its rising path.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the jet forming means includes orifices spaced over the distance from said vessel bottom to said liquid level.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the orifices are circular.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the space between orifices is equal to more than about five times the orifice diameter.

5; Apparatus for contacting a body of liquid with a gas, a portion of which liquid is circulated as a rising column, comprising a tray having a side and bottom to contain the liquid to a predetermined level, means within said vessel to define at least a part of the path of said rising column, said means including an upright distributor located within said tray and having its upper end extending above the level of said liquid, said distributor having perforations for projecting jets of vapor outwardly into a substantial portion of the height of said column, a plate above said distributor to divert the rising column and baffle means to direct the vapor during its passage from the tray.

6. The apparatus of claim wherein the distributor is a cylinder centrally located within the tray.

7. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the perforations extend along the height of the distributor.

8. Apparatus for contacting a liquid with a vapor comprising a tray having a side and a sloping bottom to hold liquid to a predetermined level, an upright cylinder centrally located within said tray with its lower end spaced from the bottom and having its upper end extending above the liquid level, a distributor coaxially and concentrically within said cylinder and having perforations for projecting jets of vapor radially outward over substantially the entire depth of said liquid, a vapor supply pipe within said distributor, a liquid directing plate secured to the upper end of said distributor and having a diameter larger than said cylinder.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 including a deflector extending from said tray sides above said plate, a top supported from said side and defining a passage therebetween and a baffle depending from said top and over said deflector.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the perforations have a diameter of at least 0.03 inches.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the distance from the perforate wall of the distributor to the inside of the cylinder is from about 100 to about 200 times the diameter of a perforation.

12. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein a vapor supply pipe extends above the top of the cylinder.

13. The method of contacting a liquid and a gas comprising the steps of providing a body of liquid, developing a rising column of liquid within said body, forming a gas into jets, directing the jets at about sonic velocity into said column over a substantial portion of its height and along a path transverse to its rising direction.

14. The process of claim 13 wherein the jets are circular and have a diameter of at least 0.03 inches and are spaced apart a distance equal to at least five times the jet diameter.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein a portion of the separation is achieved by the step of directing a stream of gas containing droplets of liquid against another such stream.

16. The process for treating liquid with a vapor comprising the steps of providing a body of liquid to be treated, circulating said liquid along a path adjacent jet forming means to establish a rising column at least partially within said body, providing a supply of vapor in said body, projecting jets of vapor outwardly from said supply and into said rising column over a major portion of its total height, separating the gas from the liquid and recovering the treated liquid.

17. The process of claim 1 wherein the rising column of liquid has an annular shape and surrounds the vapor supply and the jets are projected radially outward from said supply and through said rising column.

18. The process of claim 1 wherein separation of entrained liquid from the vapor includes the steps of directing the vapor and droplets radially inward and then radially outward to disengage droplets of the liquid from the vapor.

Po-ww UNITED STATES 'PA'lfJNl omi s CERTIFICATE OF CQRREC'NON Patent NO 3.693. 322 Dated September 26 1972 1nventor(s) Dewey DI. Lineberrv and Frank A. Dudrow It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shownbelow:

I v i v In the abstract, line 3, "jetforming" should read jet forming Column 1, line 28, "so the the oil" should read so that the oil Column 10, claim 17, line l, the numeral l should 1 read l6 Column 10, claim 18, line 1, the numeral "1" should read l6 Signed and sealed this 6th day of March 1973.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD NHFLETCHERJR. v ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer 7 Commissioner of Patents 

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the jet forming means includes orifices spaced over the distance from said vessel bottom to said liquid level.
 3. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the orifices are circular.
 4. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the space between orifices is equal to more than about five times the orifice diameter.
 5. Apparatus for contacting a body of liquid with a gas, a portion of which liquid is circulated as a rising column, comprising a tray having a side and bottom to contain the liquid to a predetermined level, means within said vessel to define at least a part of the path of said rising column, said means including an upright distributor located within said tray and having its upper end extending above the level of said liquid, said distributor having perforations for projecting jets of vapor outwardly into a substantial portion of the height of said column, a plate above said distributor to divert the rising column and baffle means to direct the vapor during its passage from the tray.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the distributor is a cylinder centrally located within the tray.
 7. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the perforations extend along the height of the distributor.
 8. Apparatus for contacting a liquid with a vapor comprising a tray having a side and a sloping bottom to hold liquid to a predetermined level, an upright cylinder centrally located within said tray with its lower end spaced from the bottom and having its upper end extending above the liquid level, a distributor coaxially and concentrically within said cylinder and having perforations for projecting jets of vapor radially outward over substantially the entire depth of said liquid, a vapor supply pipe within said distributor, a liquid directing plate secured to the upper end of said distributor and having a diameter larger than said cylinder.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8 including a deflector extending from said tray sides above said plate, a top supported from said side and defining a passage therebetween and a baffle depending from said top and over said deflector.
 10. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the perforations have a diameter of at least 0.03 inches.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the distance from the perforate wall of the distributor to the inside of the cylinder is from about 100 to about 200 times the diameter of a perforation.
 12. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein a vapor supply pipe extends above the top of the cylinder.
 13. The method of contacting a liquid and a gas comprising the steps of providing a body of liquid, developing a rising column of liquid within said body, forming a gas into jets, directing the jets at about sonic velocity into said column over a substantial portion of its height and along a path transverse to its rising direction.
 14. The process of claim 13 wherein the jets are circular and have a diameter of at least 0.03 inches and are spaced apart a distance equal to at least five times the jet diameter.
 15. The method of claim 13 wherein a portion of the separation is achieved by the step of directing a stream of gas containing droplets of liquid against another such stream.
 16. The process for treating liquid with a vapor comprising the steps of providing a body of liquid to be treated, circulating said liquid along a path adjacent jet forming means to establish a rising column at least partially within said body, providing a supply of vapor in said body, projecting jets of vapor outwardly from said supply and into said rising column over a major portion of its total height, separating the gas from the liquid and recovering the treated liquid.
 17. The process of claim 1 wherein the rising column of liquid has an annular shape and surrounds the vapor supply and the jets are projected radially outward from said supply and through said rising column.
 18. The process of claim 1 wherein separation of entrained liquid from the vapor includes the steps of directing the vapor and droplets radially inward and then radially outward to disengage droplets of the liquid from the vapor. 